ARTIST INFO

 

A privileged few may have booked the first available seats on Virgin Galactic's maiden outer-space voyage for 2009, but they needn't have bothered come April 21st 2008, as Australia’s masters of intergalactic space revelry, the Midnight Juggernauts, launch their debut album „Dystopia“ onto an unsuspecting musical public. Interstellar space travel has never been quite so within arm's reach, available to one and all in a single concentrated 50-minute supersonic burst. In the Midnight Juggernauts' „Dystopia“ constellation a line can be traced from the modern symphony of M83 and Air, all the way back to the electronic psychedelia of CAN and the pop smarts of Electric Light Orchestra. John Carpenter is in the director's chair, Georgio Moroder's compiling the soundtrack, and Goblin is screaming from the shadows.

 

Throughout its 13 tracks „Dystopia“ lays a common thread of vigilant optimism, although it's a mood often shrouded with a dark and sinister disposition. The relentless stomp of techno-meets-disco singles 'Road To Recovery', 'Shadows' and 'Tombstone' scored the band high-rotation airplay indie radio Australia wide, while further into the stratosphere they've been pounced on by BBC1 and MTV2 UK/Europe. The formula is tweaked with glittering results on album tracks like 'Into The Galaxy', 'Twenty Thousand Leagues' and 'Nine Lives', while introspective departures (such as the title track or album closer 'Aurora') or abrasive moments ('Intro' and 'Scorpius') display a luscious and darker side to the band’s exterior.

 

Midnight Juggernauts released their debut album independently through their own label Siberia Records, entering the Australian top 20 last August. This has granted them complete creative freedom and also kept them open to growing interest from around the world, and they recently inked a licensing deal for their label Siberia through Capitol France to distribute Dystopia on a global scale this May. Upon entering the studio to begin their „Dystopia“ journey Vincent and Andy - the band’s original nucleus - made the decision to invite a third member into the fold. Daniel Stricker (drums/vox) accepted the challenge, and the band's live show has reaped the rewards. Now an even more dynamic and energetic experience.

 

Personally invited by French wunderkind's Justice (who listed them in Pitchfork as their favorite new band) to support them on their world tour throughout the end of 2007, the Juggernauts impressed audiences from Los Angeles to London, and were one of the must see bands at CMJ in New York. Their tours have taken them from Arenas to Festivals to small warehouse gigs playing with bands such as Klaxons, !!!, Crystal Castles, The Pixies, Holy Fuck, Surkin and others – and they’ve done it all on their own. As 2008 begun they played the mainstage of Australia's legendary Big Day Out, invited M83 to tour with them in Australia, with the jewel in America's festival crown - Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival - coming up next, as well as an extensive run of shows in the UK, Europe, US and Japan planned to coincide with „Dystopia's“ international release.

Critical acclaim for the Midnight Juggernauts has been unrelenting, with „Dystopia“ topping several 'Best of the Year' lists well before its international release including Ed Banger mainman Busy P listing „Dystopia“ as The Years best album to American magazine XLR8R. The response is no less rapturous in the UK, in publications such as the NME and Drowned In Sound.

 

Cinematic in its scope, „Dystopia“ is the sound of a band exploring time and space. It's like watching new stars burn into existence, and then disappear in a single flash. It's the sound of a black hole imploding under the weight of a sweat-soaked, heaving dance floor. It's the future - past and present - all rolled into one, but it's like nothing you've ever experienced before.